Episode 1: By the Power of Toon World P1
by ClassicCartoon27
Summary: Tony was your average 14 year old with a love of cartoons. What will happen when he finds out that they are real? Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1: A Boy Named Tony

The following story is based off the childhood fantasies of two brothers who watched way too much television in their day. This story is actually the first part of a series we're hoping to do featuring our original characters and favorite cartoons. Part 1 introduces the main character and sets the stage for events in Part 2. Enjoy and tell us what you think.

_The author does not own any existing cartoon characters, products or locations used in this story. The author is not receiving any monetary gain from this story. No copyright infringement in intended. Any resemblance of original characters, products or locations to real life is purely coincidental. _

**HEY! This is our first Fan Fic, but will not be our last. We have a whole series planed. Quick note: most stories will be already finished, but still we encourage and emplor you ti leave feed back so that we can see what and where nees inproving. So Here is the Toon Master and the Super Stars...ENJOY!**

**By the Power of Toon World – Part 1**

"_This has all happened before and it will all happen again."_

- The Narrator. Walt Disney's "Peter Pan". 1953

"Tony! Hurry up! You're gonna make us late!"

"I'm coming. I'm coming." A young teenager crashed through the front door of a blue colored house in the middle of an average middle class neighborhood. He half-stumbled down the front walk, hastily swinging a backpack onto his shoulders and choking down the rest of a burnt waffle. Tony was pretty thin for a fourteen year old, but he was surprisingly durable. Always full of energy Tony Masters ran around quite a bit, ever since he was a baby, and as such, he tended to have an above average number of accidents. Amazingly though, Tony never seemed to get hurt.

When he was just a baby, his parents were constantly having to watch him. They eventually lost count of the number of times Tony bounced his way down the stairs, laughing the whole way down. Another time, his ever-watchful parents turned their backs for one minute and curious little Tony finally fulfilled his lifelong dream of finding out what happens if you stick a fork in an electric socket. Three seconds and one hundred twenty volts later, a very frantic mother and father pulled a smiling, completely uninjured (though now spike-haired) Tony away from the socket. Neither they nor the doctors could understand it.

Such events did not stop as Tony got older. If anything, they happened more often once he gained the ability to walk. Tony walked into doors regularly, fell out of trees and often got into fights at school protecting the younger kids. Tony could be kind of goofy, but you couldn't say he was a coward.

Right now, Tony's day was starting off accident free as he joined his friends John and Crystal who were waiting outside his house. Tony had known them both since elementary school. John was about as tall as Tony, but stockier with blonde hair instead of Tony's brown. He was good at computers, but in a cool way, not a nerdy way. His specialty was music programs, the kind that let you synthesize your own songs. His life's goal was to have his own recording studio. John was always getting the top grades in school, but also got into trouble a lot, usually with Tony; he's kind of a reckless genius.

Crystal, on the other hand, may not have been as smart as John, but she definitely had more common sense than both boys combined. She was often the voice of reason when the boys went on their adventures, like pilfering old technology from the city dump or cutting class to relax in the empty teacher's lounge. She didn't get into as much trouble as John or Tony, not because she caused less trouble, but because she was better at not getting caught. Crystal always dressed in violently brilliant colors, quite the contrast to the black John usually wore.

Tony was average as far as school grades were concerned, not because he was dumb, but because he was a little lazy. Admittedly, he doesn't have a lot of ambition and very little of his homework ever gets done, except for the bit he can squeeze in during commercials. You see, Tony spends much of his time with his greatest passion: television. Actions shows, game shows, sitcoms; he watches them all, but by far his favorite things on TV are cartoons.

Tony's a big fan of anything animated. Action cartoons like M.A.S.K., the Centurians, and He-Man made him feel brave, like a hero. Funny cartoons like Loony Tunes and Garfield & Friends always had Tony rolling on the floor with laughter. He even watched educational cartoons like Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade, but was always careful never to learn too much in one day.

Unfortunately, Tony's friends did not share in his cartoon enthusiasm, as they showed today once again as Tony tried to talk to them about what he saw on TV last night.

"Hey," said Tony, a big grin on his face. "Did you guys see Rescue Rangers yesterday? Fat Cat stole this golden mouse statue and Dale ended up…" his voice trailed off as he saw the embarrassed looks on John and Crystal's faces.

"Uh, I take it you did not see Rescue Rangers yesterday" said Tony.

"No Tony, we did not," said Crystal, barely containing her impatience. "And likewise, I can assume you did not do your algebra homework last night."

Tony didn't look the least bit worried as he confirmed Crystal's fears. "Well, I was going to do it, but I got confused halfway through."

"Really," said John. "I thought it was pretty easy. Which part did you get stuck on?"

"Well," drawled Tony, "algebra has almost as many letters as numbers in the problems. I looked at so many of those problems that I thought I was doing my English homework."

John and Crystal burst out laughing. When Crystal stopped, she forced herself to look stern. It didn't quite work since she was still grinning. "Oh, Tony, that is your worst excuse yet."

"Yeah," agreed John. "Mrs. Flatbrush will never buy that."

"Oh, slag it," cursed Tony with mock disappointment. "Now what am I gonna do with the essay I wrote for problem three?"

The trio of friends laughed all the way to the front doors of the school.


	2. Chapter 2: Destiny Calling

"OK, that's two Big Macs, one Fish Fillet, three fries, two cokes, and one lemonade. Anything else?" asked a sixteen year old with more zits than skin on his face.

"No, that's it. I'm trying to cut back," said Tony.

"Ho, ho. That joke always gets me" said the teen in a lifeless voice. Tony was at the McDonald's down the street from the Mawaga High School. It was lunchtime and Tony was picking up the gang's usual order. Of course, students aren't supposed to leave the school grounds during school hours. If Tony got caught, it'd be detention for sure, but the alternative was to try and gag down the unidentifiable blobs the high school attempted to pass off as food.

Tony was usually the one who goes to McDonald's. Crystal is not as fast as him and John is not nimble enough to climb the chain link fence that surrounded the school.

Tony paid for the food, said thanks, and sped back to the school. Before he went more than ten steps, Tony halted in his tracks. A figure, dressed in a black robe and hood stepped out from behind a tree and stood directly in Tony's path. The sudden appearance made Tony stop short and the bizarre clothing make him stare. The robe hid most of the person's frame, but Tony could see that they were about the same height, but the kid was more muscular. His face was concealed in the shadow of the hood. Tony couldn't tell if it was a guy or girl. There was some kind of symbol on the neck of the robe, but Tony wasn't close enough to tell what it was.

"Uh, excuse me" said Tony, hesitantly. "I need to get by."

"Wait," commanded a deep male voice from inside the hood. "I must speak with you."

"Do I know you?" asked Tony slowly.

"No."

"Then who are you?" There was a slight edge in Tony's voice now. This guy was definitely creepy and Tony didn't really have time to talk anyway.

The man in boy in black remained immobile. "Who I am is not important. What is important is who you are."

"What do you mean?"

The boy pointed a black gloved hand at Tony. "You are the one."

"The what?" asked Tony, still creeped out, but now with a dash of confusion.

"You are the one. We've been searching for you for a long time now and we're sure. You are the one."

Before Tony could do more than blink at this startling pronouncement, the robbed boy continued, but he was starting to sound more hesitant.

"Well, the truth is we're not sure. I mean, not SURE sure. There's a really good chance, like 80% that you're… well it's more like 75%, but we rounded up to make it sound better. Not that it sounds bad, it's just that…"

"Huh, hem!" Tony jerked in surprise. He had been staring at the boy in the robe ramble, his jaw dropping with each word, when the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat startled him. He looked around to see who had made the noise, but no one else was looking their way. In fact, all passersby were acting as if Tony and the boy didn't even exist.

Meanwhile, the boy was acting even stranger. He had finally stopped talking, but now he was nervously tapping his fingertips together and he kept glancing at the tree he had stepped out from behind.

The boy started talking again, but with considerably less confidence. "So, anyway, uh…You are the one, so I need you to come with me right now without asking any questions." The boy said this rather quickly.

Tony hesitated just a second before replying. "Right. Well, I'm just gonna…" Tony quickly darted around the robbed boy and sped down the sidewalk at top speed. He glanced over his shoulder.

The boy was waving his arms. The long sleeves of his robes made him look like a giant bird. "Wait. Wait. We need you to be our hero and free our world, defeat evil, fight tooth decay…" The boy's voice trailed off as Tony disappeared from view.

The boy slumped his shoulders and finally removed his hood. He had blond hair, a round face, and a very disappointed expression, which quickly changed to a cringing expression as he looked at the tree once more. A tall, thin girl stepped out from behind it. She was wearing a dark pink shirt and blue jeans. Her blond hair was done up into a ponytail. Her blue eyes were fixed on the boy along with a face of growing anger.

The boy looked at the girl for a second and gave a feeble smile. "I thought that went rather well, don't you?"

The girl pressed her fingers to her temple. "Tom!" she exploded. "I should have known not to trust you with this."

"Aw, come on, Penny, give me another chance. His quick wit caught me off guard."

"A statue's quick wit could catch you off guard." Penny rolled her eyes. "Look, we're going to have to go to that school to talk to him again, so this time, try to…"

"Hey, you two!"

Tom and Penny both turned around. Striding towards them was Truant Officer Krass Domkoff, the most arrogant man to ever wear a badge. He spent every weekday strutting around town, looking for any kid who was skipping school. He and Tony have been having a battle of wits since middle school and even though Domkoff has managed to drag Tony back to school on occasion, the record still stands in favor of the teen. Standing a commanding 5'8" tall, Domkoff preferred working with children and young adults since it gave him the rare opportunity to look down on people.

"You kinder," the officer said in a thick German accent. "Why are you not in school?" 'Kinder' is the German word for 'children'. Domkoff didn't really hail from Germany; he just thought the accent made him sound tough.

"Oh great, come on." Penny grabbed Tom's arm and pulled him behind the tree, out of Officer Domkoff's view.

Domkoff smirked. "You kinders will have to do better than that." He began to speak in a mocking sing-song voice as he slowly approached the tree. "Come out, come out, where ever you are."

Domkoff casually stepped around the tree and…saw nothing. Tom and Penny were not there. Domkoff's smirk was quickly replaced by a scowl. He had clearly seen the two teenagers run in fear of him and hide behind this tree and his keen eye did not see them leave. He looked up, but since it was mid-October, most of the leaves were gone so they could not be hiding in the branches. Domkoff went around the tree a full five times before giving up and skulking off, muttering under his breath and kicking over a nearby garbage can.

Once the truant officer was out of sight, Penny and Tom poked their heads out from behind the tree.

"Whew, that was close," sighed Penny. She looked up and down the street a couple of times before addressing Tom, who was looking at her rather anxiously.

"All right, Tom, I'll give you another chance," she said in a weary way. It seemed like she said this phase a lot. "But this time, I'm going with you."


	3. Chapter 3: Fighting Spirit

Tony ran as fast as he could back to the school, almost dropping his friends' lunches on the way. That weird guy in the robe had really freaked him out. Maybe it was some kind of promotion. Maybe it was a really elaborate mugger. Either way, Tony never even slowed as he vaulted back over the school fence.

The Mawaga High School had its regular indoor cafeteria, but it also had several picnic tables for eating outside. This was where Tony, John, and Crystal usually liked to eat: out in the open air and out of that stuffy school building. With winter on the way, the three friends had to make the most of the remaining nice weather. John and Crystal were waiting for Tony at their usual table with growling stomachs and rapidly thinning patience. Finally, Tony come up to the table in a dead run. He threw the food onto the table and sank onto the bench, panting heavily.

"Well, it's about time, dude," said John, apparently not noticing how tired his friend was. "I was just telling Crystal all about the mega-woofers in the new Panasonic Sound Blast 9000 Keyboard/Synthesizer System."

Crystal was gazing off at the horizon, her back to the boys. "And I was just politely pretending to be listening." She turned around and lifted up her sunglasses, getting a good look at Tony. Her brow creased with worry. "Tony, what's wrong. You look spooked."

"The (huff) weirdest thing (huff) at McDonald's…" panted Tony.

"What, did you meet up with Domkoff?" asked John, his mouth full of Big Mac and Coke.

"No," replied Tony. In between bites of lunch, he retold his experience with the strange boy to his friends. Crystal told Tony that he had done the right thing; the kid was obviously a little mental and might have been dangerous. John, however, seemed to view the whole thing as one big joke.

"Aw, Tony. Running away from a Star Wars geek. He must have been skipping school to go to some geek convention in town."

"A convention in Mawaga?" asked Crystal skeptically. "This isn't a big city. How come we hadn't heard about it? Where would they even hold something like that around here?"

"How should I know? Do I look like a geek?"

"I think we should let that one slide" said Tony. He was about to drain the last of his soda when it was roughly grabbed out of his hand.

"Thanks for the soda, Tony Baloney. Heh, heh." It was Alan McClop, Mawaga High's own schoolyard bully. Every school needs one, it seems. Alan was pretty standard, as bullies go. Big, muscular: arms like tree trunks and a brain like coleslaw. Like Tony and his friends, Alan also never ate the cafeteria food. Unlike Tony and his friends, Alan McClop stole his lunches from the smaller seventh and eighth-graders, well out of view of the teachers, of course. He liked to see the kids shake and squeal when he walked by. Tony, being a Freshman, was a year younger than the big Sophomore and much thinner, but he wasn't afraid of him. Despite that, Alan still liked to harass Tony any chance he got.

Alan waved the soda cup in Tony's face before taking a swig. "Hey, it's empty."

"Like your head" muttered Tony. Apparently, Alan didn't hear him. He had thrown the empty soda cup on the ground and was now rummaging through the gang's empty McDonald's bags.

"You didn't leave anything for me?" asked Alan, adopting a tone of mock disappointment. He crumpled the empty bags in his hands in a threatening manner, but kept up his emotionally hurt tone. "Maybe next time, you'll get some for me."

"We'd have to take out a mortgage to buy enough to feed you're fat face" said Crystal.

Alan scowled at her and continued to crush the paper bags, which were buy now leaking grease onto his fingers. He would have liked nothing more than to deck Crystal for daring to insult him, but he wasn't so stupid as to throw a punch where a teacher might see. Grabbing some kids lunch on the go was one thing. Starting a fight out in the open was just asking for trouble. Instead, Alan settled for throwing back his own insult. "You're Mom should teach you to keep you mouth shut, like a woman's supposed to. But then, if she knew how to be a woman, maybe your Daddy wouldn't have run off."

Crystal pretended that she couldn't hear him, but she could not hide a faint pink blush on her cheeks. Tony and John, however, didn't even try to hide the fact that they were about to stuff Alan's words right back down his throat.

"Shut up", snapped Tony.

"You have no right to talk about her father", said John, flexing his own muscular arms.

"Guys, don't", pleaded Crystal. "He's just trying to bait you."

Alan grinned; Crystal was right, of course. Tony and John were falling right into Alan's trap. He would never start a fight in plain sight, but, after all, he did have the right to defend himself. Alan could see in Tony's furious face that he was about two seconds away from attacking. Alan was getting ready to easily dodge Tony's punch and then show the little twerp what a real punch was when a voice from behind him said "Hello all."

All four teenagers were afraid it was a teacher, but then they saw it was just Ken McClop, the elder McClop brother: a Senior who was slimmer and quite a bit more cunning than Alan. Ken was the one who had to bail out Alan when his bullying went too far. Not out of any concern for the victims, of course. He was just trying to keep his brother from getting into trouble.

Ken put a hand on his younger brother's shoulder and forcefully steered him back toward the school entrance. "Come on now, Alan. I will not have my brother associating with his kind of riffraff."

"Hey, where you goin'?" screamed Tony as the McClops walked away. "I'm not done with you yet."

Ken looked over his shoulder with a condescending smile. "Now now, Tony. You ought to be careful. I believe the principal's exact words were 'One more mishap, Anthony, and you will be suspended.'" The smile on Ken's face grew. "I don't think your parents could stand to face any more shame from you. Besides, _Anthony _(Ken knew Tony hated being called by his proper name_)_, if you had managed to actually hit Alan, my father would have to sue you for assault and battery." Finally, the two bullies pushed open the doors and entered the school, stopping to steal the lunch of two young girls just outside the building.

Tony was still fuming. John was looking very relieved that the two brothers had gone. Crystal was torn between feeling grateful for the boys standing up for her, anger at them for thinking that they had to, and utter disbelief that that they did.

"Guys, what were you thinking?" asked Crystal, who seemed to finally settle on disbelief. "Alan is twice John's size. He would have crushed you."

"Duh," said John, looking mortified at the very idea of fighting Alan. "I was bluffing."

"Well I wasn't", snapped Tony. "I was just getting ready to show him some Batman martial arts and kick him to the curb, Dark Knight style. Or, maybe you and I, John, could make like the Double Dragons and do some kind of whirling kick upside his…" Tony stopped. He had glanced around at his friends and noticed that they were once again looking at him with barely concealed embarrassment.

"Tony," said Crystal softly. "Will you just stop it with the cartoons all the time? Cartoons are for children and we are mature young adults."

"That's right," agreed John in a solemn voice. He closed his eyes and raised his right hand up to the sky. "Cartoons are the symbol of a childhood that we can never go back to, so we must avoid trying to live in the past. We have our futures to think of and must put our childish antics behind us."

John opened his eyes to find two slack-jawed friends.

"That was freaky," said Tony, shivering in mock fright.

"No, that was impressive," admonished Crystal. "That was the most mature thing I've ever heard you say, John."

"Thank you," said John, looking pleased with himself. "Now, we should have just enough time before history class to swipe some frogs from the biology lab and let them loose in the girl's locker room."

Tony's face perked up quick. "Let's do it."

The two boys ran off, leaving Crystal sitting on the picnic table, slack-jawed once more. "Honestly. I don't even know why I bother with those two."

"Hey Crystal, you comin'?" yelled Tony from across the schoolyard.

"Yeah, ok."


	4. Chapter 4: History Lesson

BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!

Tony, John, and Crystal hurried into their history classroom just before the final bell rang. They had managed to swipe a good dozen frogs from the science classrooms, but they never got to release them anywhere. A couple of teachers showed up and the trio was forced to stuff the frogs in Tony's locker. They planned to get rid of them after school.

Right now, all three teens raced to their desks and collapsed, winded from their little adventure. As Tony sat there panting for breath for the second time that day, he thought he really needed to get more exercise. He leaned to his right to tell John as much, but instead found a boy who was not John staring back at him. The muscular, blond haired boy grinned at Tony and winked at him, as if they shared some kind of secret.

The guy was starting to creep Tony out. He turned to Crystal (maybe she knew who the kid was), but instead found a girl with a blond ponytail wearing a dark pink shirt also staring at him, but she was staring as if she were trying to see through him. As if she was trying to read his thoughts.

With all this staring, Tony felt like a bug in a glass jar. He looked around wildly for his friends and found them sitting directly behind him, both looking a little confused. Apparently, the boy and girl had been sitting in John and Crystal's regular seats when the trio had entered the classroom. Tony gave a slight nod to each of the unknown teens, silently asking if his friends knew who they were. Both John and Crystal shook their heads; they had no idea.

The girl leaned forward, completely ignoring John and Crystal, and spoke quietly to Tony. "We need to speak with you. Right now."

Tony didn't really care for the girl's pushy attitude. "Sorry, my mom always told me not to speak to strangers."

The girl did not look away. "I'm Penny. He's Tom. Now can we talk?"

Tony looked to his right again. The boy, Tom, grinned stupidly when his name was mentioned and was actually waving at Tony, as if Tony wouldn't be able to see him otherwise. Tony cringed at him before looking back to Penny.

"Look, I don't know who you are…"

"Yes, you do," insisted Penny, impatiently. "I just told you that I'm Penny and he's Tom." Tom was waving again. "Now listen carefully. This is about your grandfather."

Tony had been staring ahead, not really paying attention, but at the mention of his grandfather, his head whipped around to face Penny again. "Grandpa?" Tony asked, raising his voice slightly. "What about my grandpa?"

"Settle down, everyone," said Mrs. Pimbrook, the history teacher, in a bored, nasal voice. The rest of the class ceased their chatter and prepared to listen to what was likely to be a very boring lecture. Tony, however, was deep in thought and was barely listening to Mrs. Pinbrook as she rambled on about the American Revolution. Tony had always been a bit touchy when it came to his grandfather. When he was younger, he used to get teased because his grandpa liked cartoons so much. In truth, it was Tony's grandpa who got him hooked on cartoons in the first place. Penny and Tom were still trying to get Tony to talk to them. John and Crystal leaned forward in their seats so they could hear the muffled conversation.

"Listen, we just need to talk to you," whispered Tom.

"She said something about my grandpa," said Tony, pointing at Penny. "What about him?"

"We knew your grandfather."

"From where?"

"Well," Tom glanced at Tony's friends. "We really have to tell you in private."

John leaned still closer. "What do you mean? What's so secret about Tony's grandpa? Was he, like, some kind of government spy or something?"

"Oh, no," chuckled Tom. "He was a super hero." He said this as if it was common knowledge.

"Huh, hem," Penny cleared her throat while looking very pointedly at Tom, who withered under her glare. Tony, however, sat up straighter. He recognized that "Huh, hem" as the same one that came out of nowhere when he was talking to the boy in the robe earlier that day. Now that he thought about it, Tom did sound an awful lot like the robbed guy.

"Hey, aren't you…"

"Excuse me." The teen's whispered conversation had finally caught the attention of Mrs. Pimbrook, who had now directed the entire class's attention toward the back. All five teens shrank back into their seats.

Mrs. Pimbrook looked down her considerable nose at Tony and Tom. "It seems some people believe my lessons to be beneath them. I would think that you, Tony, would want to pay more attention, considering your current GPA."

Tony shrank back even farther, but not as far as Tom. He seemed absolutely terrified of the teacher, which of course drew her attention to him and she smiled slightly.

"Perhaps, you sir, can tell the class what Samuel Adams said right before the start of the Boston Tea Party?"

"Uh…" Tom gripped his desk and his eyes darted about. "Pass the sugar?"

The class laughed out loud and Tony had to admit that that was a good one. Mrs. Pimbrook scowled at Tom.

"Just what we need, another class clown," said Mrs. Pimbrook, glancing at Tony, who was still snickering. The teacher walked back up to the front of the classroom to continue the lesson. Tony had enjoyed the joke, but decided that they had pushed Pimbrook about as far as they could today. He better just settle down for the rest of the class. Penny and Tom, it seemed, were not ready to leave Tony alone.

Penny leaned across Tony's desk, oblivious to Tony staring at her, and addressed Tom. "We need to get out of here and find a private place to talk."

"Leave it to me," whispered Tom enthusiastically. He sat quietly for a few seconds, then he jumped out of his seat and shouted, "Tony, my friend, you are ill. I will take you to the nurse's office." Tom grabbed a stunned Tony by the shirt and dragged him out the door.

Everyone in the classroom sat stunned, including Penny. She recovered quickly though, and raced out of the room before anyone could stop her. Skidding to a stop in the middle of the hallway, Penny looked left and right, but didn't see any sign of Tom or Tony. Cursing under her breath, she stared running down the hall, but had barely taken two steps when she saw Tom's head sticking out of a closet doorway. He was waving at her to come in. Seeing that no one was around, Penny silently entered the closet.

The closet was dark, but Penny could just make out the dim form of Tom wrestling with the equally dim, yet considerably angrier form of Tony. Judging by the muffled shouts and the way Tony kept trying to choke Tom, it didn't look like Tony would want to hear anything they said. _I knew I should have brought Mary with me_, thought Penny. Finally, after six unsuccessful tries, Tom managed to sit Tony down on a pile of mangled toilet paper. Tom collapsed right on the floor and Penny gently seated herself on a box of floor wax.

Tony realized that he would have to listen to whatever these two whack-jobs had to say before he could get out of here. He decided he wasn't going to be happy about it. He scowled at Tom, who cringed and shrugged, as if to say he was only following orders. He scowled at Penny too, but it was lost on her. She just stared back with a look of strained patience, as if it was Tony's fault they had thrown him in here.

_Time for the direct approach._ Once Tony had cooled down, Penny launched into her explanation. "Listen, your grandfather was a hero. He saved our entire world."

"I know he was a hero," spat Tony, impatiently. "He was a soldier in World War II. He used to tell me about it all the time."

"He was lying."

Tony sat up straight; not quite understanding was he had just heard. When it had finally set in, he began to get angry again. He had always had a special relationship with his grandfather. He had understood Tony like no one else had. They used to spend hours together just watching television and talking. It was his grandfather who had given Tony his obsession with cartoons. And now some stranger was going to call his grandfather a liar?

"Are you saying Grandpa wasn't a war hero?" asked Tony.

"Of course he was," snapped Penny.

"He didn't lie about that," said Tom gently. "He lied to you about which war he was in."

Tony blinked in confusion. "What do you mean? What war did he fight in?"

"Why, in the Claw Wars in Toon World." Tom said, again sounding as if it should be obvious, but Tony had to mull that one over before he could respond.

"I'm sorry," said Tony slowly. "I don't think I heard you right. It sounded like you said Toon World. Toon, as in cartoon?"

"Right. Toon World. That's where we're from," said Tom, indicating him and Penny.

"It's also where your grandfather was from," said Penny. "He was a Toon and you are half-Toon."

Tony couldn't believe these two thought he was stupid enough to fall for a trick like this. "Okay, the McClops got you guys to do this, didn't they? Well, this has been fun and all, but I'm outta here." Tony tried to get up, but Penny was suddenly in his face, pushing him back down.

"Listen, Tony! We are not joking."

"Yeah," agreed Tom. "If we were joking, we would have said "A priest and butcher and a hedgehog all to into a bar and the bartender says…"

"Toon World," said Penny loudly, interrupting Tom, "is where all the cartoon characters you watch on TV actually live. All those adventures you humans watch on your televisions actually happen back in our dimension."

"But that's impossible," insisted Tony. "Grandpa can't have been a cartoon. Cartoons aren't even real. Even I know that. They're just paper and ink and paint."

A small smile grew on Penny's face (the first one Tony had seen yet). "We figured you'd be skeptical, so we brought along a little proof. Something a cartoon fan like you will be sure to recognize. Tom, show him."

Tom nodded and thrust his hand into his right pants pocket. His eyes rolled up towards the ceiling as he fished around in his pocket for a minute. His hand came back out empty, so he immediately searched his left pants pocket. His hand came out empty again. Worry creased Tom's forehead as he desperately searched all his pockets trying to find the proof they had brought. As he began turning in circles and looking at the floor, thinking that he may have dropped it, Penny said in a very impatient and irritated voice, "Please tell me that you did not just lose our proof."

"No," said Tom, defensively. "I did not JUST lose it. Knowing me, I probably lost it some time ago."

As Penny began arguing with Tom, Tony quietly got up and made his way to the door. "Well," said Tony, "this has been awkward and all, but I gotta go." Before either of the others could stop him, Tony threw open the door, dashed out, and bumped right into Mr. Buzzcut, making his rounds through the school. A man in his late forties, the Vice Principal was a tall thin man who always wore a grey suit and a perpetual expression of disapproval. It was rumored that he had been in the military before becoming principal. He ran his hands threw his thinning hair and straightened his sports jacket before addressing Tony.

"Anthony Masters, what do you think you are doing?" he asked curtly. Mr. Buzzcut never bothered to be seen as friendly with his students, except of course with the ones who had rich parents who always donated generously to the school (and his pension).

Tony quickly launched into an explanation. "Listen, Mr. B, it was not my fault. I was sitting in class, minding my own business, when these two dragged me out of the room and into the closet." He pointed at Penny and Tom.

The Vice Principal merely glanced into the closet before asking "And which _two_ would you be referring to, Anthony? The pair of brooms in the corner?"

Tony turned around and found to his utter dismay that Penny and Tom had disappeared. But how could that have happened? They couldn't have run out without Buzzcut seeing them and there was nowhere in the close to hide. "But, but…I…and they…and…"

Mr. Buzzcut took Tony roughly by the elbow and dragged him down the hall. "To my office, young man."

As soon as the two of them were gone, Penny and Tom's heads emerged from a very small box of sponges on the floor.

"You had to go and lose our only proof!" hissed Penny, staring at the open closet door.

"Look at the bright side," said Tom.

"And that would be?"

Tom held up an armload of green sponges. "Free sponges!"

Penny pushed Tom's head back down into the box and then turned back to the matter at hand. Without the proof they had brought, there was no way to show Tony they were telling the truth except… No, no it was too dangerous. Then again, the alternative was unacceptable. This was their last chance and they had to take it. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

From deep inside the sponge box came Tom's muffled voice. "Oooh look, a red one."


	5. Chapter 5: The Principal

Tony was sitting on a hard wooden chair directly in front of Mr. Buzzcut's desk. The vice principal, in his high, padded, leather-bound chair (an "generous anonymous donation"), was talking on the phone and practically ignoring Tony, except to peer sternly at him as if to dissuade any thought Tony might have about running off. As if Tony was that stupid.

On the outside, Tony was trying to look like a humble student rightfully ashamed of what he had done. His shoulders were slumped, eyes on the floor. Inside, he was busting with rage. Those two weirdoes got him into this trouble and then just disappeared. He could get suspended for this.

Mr. Buzzcut finally hung up the phone. He always liked to build the tension before delivering punishment. Before he could say anything, Tony immediately leaned forward. "Mr. Buzzcut, before you say anything, let me just say that it wasn't my fault. It was that guy, Tom and the girl, Penny, who dragged me in there. I was just sitting in class, dutifully absorbing all the knowledge I could." Tony's explanation was becoming something more like a plea, but he didn't care if he had to beg a little. His parents would kill him if he got into trouble again.

Mr. Buzzcut looked down at Tony with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. There was no doubt that he was enjoying this. "Anthony (_Geez, I hate that name_ thought Tony), you and I both know there was no one else in that closet and although it still escapes me as to why you were in there by yourself, I do know that it is against school regulations. I also seem to recall that I told you that one more violation would result in an immediate suspension."

"But, Mr. Buzzcut, sir," pleaded Tony. "I didn't do anything. I was just sitting in a closet. I mean, compared to some of the other stuff I've pulled, that's nothing. It's like taking a paperclip from the office; like going one mile over the speed limit. How about just giving me a warning? Come on, have a heart." Tony gave his best salesman smile and held out his arms, as if to hug the vice principal.

Mr. Buzzcut looked disgusted at the very thought. He looked at Tony a minute, then cast his eyes down at the desk and began shuffling papers. "Well, you do seem to have a point. This couldn't possibly compare with the time you fed laxatives to the entire track team."

"You have to admit, they've never run faster," said Tony, still grinning.

"I suppose I could let you off the hook for the closet."

Tony jumped up and shook Mr. Buzzcut's hand. "Oh thanks, sir. You are the greatest. I better get back to class. So much to learn, so little time." Tony was almost to the door when Mr. Buzzcut called him back.

"I said I could let you go for skipping class, but there's the matter of your other recent rule breaking."

"Other rule breaking?" asked Tony, puzzled. "Mr. Buzzcut, you must be mistaken. I haven't broken any other rules…today."

A small smile grew on Buzzcut's face. "Well, actually, Anthony, certain students have made remarks earlier today about strange noises coming from your locker. Out of concern for the student's welfare, I had the janitor open your locker. We found these inside of it." Mr. Buzzcut ducked under his desk and pulled out a cardboard box. The vice principal gestured to Tony, indicating that he should look in. Tony did and felt his stomach drop. A dozen fat green frogs were all hopping around in the box; the frogs he, John, and Crystal had taken from the biology lab.

Tony looked up at the principal with his heart beating fast. Mr. Buzzcut raised his eyebrows, silently asking what the frogs had been doing in Tony's locker.

"Uh…, those are for Home Economics? We're doing French cooking today and it's 'bring your own frog'".


	6. Chapter 6: Homeward Bound

"Now I know why they're called PRINCE-ipals. They're royal pains." Tony was walking down the sidewalk alone, towards his house. Buzzcut had been as good as his word and had given Tony a week's suspension. He had sent Tony home right then and there with the promise that his parents would be expecting him and then it would be a week's worth of lectures about how he was a disappointment to the family and how he was wasting his potential.

With each step, Tony was getting angrier and angrier. Not just at Buzzcut for punishing him, but mostly at Penny and Tom for getting him into this in the first place. If they hadn't screwed up his day, he could have stayed out of trouble long enough so that Buzzcut would forget he ever said he'd suspend Tony. Probably.

Tony was only two blocks away from his house when he looked up and saw the two people he had hoped never to see again: Penny and Tom. They had appeared out of nowhere and were blocking Tony's way.

"You two! What do you want now?" demanded Tony.

Tom held up his hands, pleading for patience. "Look, we're really sorry we got you in trouble."

"Are you still following me?" Tony raged, totally ignoring Tom's apology. "Haven't you ruined my life enough today? Because of you, I was suspended."

Penny folded her arms across her chest and managed not to look the least bit contrite. "You know, they eventually would have found those frogs. It was stupid to incriminate yourself by putting them in your locker."

"Well thank you, Velma. Now, will you and your friend here get out of my way?"

Penny did not move. "This isn't the way I would have wished it, but you leave us no choice. You're going to come with us, by force if necessary."

The blatant threat was so unexpected, that Tony's anger was immediately replaced by shock, then fear, and then back to anger. How dare this girl order him around, especially after what she did to him? Who did she think she was? Before he knew what he was doing, Tony was charging at Penny. His right fist was drawn back, ready to strike. Girl or not, Tony was ready to belt her.

Penny didn't move an inch until the second before Tony threw his punch. In a single movement, Penny jerked to the side, grabbed Tony's arm, brought it up behind his back and clamped her hand over Tony's mouth. He was helpless in a heartbeat.

"Tom, quick. Over there. Let's do it." Penny pointed with her chin to the barren back yard behind a newly constructed house. Tom glanced once at Penny to make sure she had Tony held tight and then quickly lead the way to the yard. Penny was practically dragging Tony. She really had to fight to hold him; Tony was struggling so hard and by now he was really terrified. He kept imagining himself as the next story on Unsolved Mysteries. He could see tomorrow's headline: "LOCAL HANDSOME TEEN FOUND DEAD WEARING A CLOWN SUIT". His panic gave him strength, but Penny was too much for him to shake off. She forced him behind the house where Tom was waiting, searching through his pockets.

Penny hissed, "Don't tell me you've lost the…"

"Nope, got it right here." Tony expected to see the barrel of a gun or a knife blade or some other kind of weapon, but Tom was holding a small grey box about the size of his palm with several buttons on top. It almost looked like a television remote control. Tom pushed a few buttons and pointed the box at the empty space in front of him.

With a whooshing sound, like a door being opened onto a windy day, a large square of white light appeared right out of thin air. It was half again as tall as Tony was. Thin black lines raced horizontally across the square, making like look like a TV screen with static. Without hesitation, Tom stepped right through the light and disappeared.

Penny tried to force Tony into the light too, but his fear factor had just sky rocketed and he thrashed around so much Penny was forced to let him go. As soon as his mouth was free, Tony began firing questions at Penny.

"What's going on? What is that?"

"It's a portal," Penny calmly answered.

"A portal?" said Tony, his voice raising. "How did it get here? Is it FAA approved? Where does it go?"

Penny leaned in close to Tony, put her mouth very close to his ear and whispered, "Home." She quickly shoved Tony forward. He stumbled through the portal with Penny right on his heels. As soon as she was through, the portal closed with another WHOOSH, leaving no trace that it had ever existed.


End file.
